Vincent's wedding

6th September - Vincent's wedding, and the first time I step foot into Belgium! Exciting!!! So, four of us, Anke, Paula, Andrei and I went on a road-trip to Belgium! It's also the first time I've brought my car on such a long trip. Anke drove of course, since I haven't passed my driving license exams. Weather was BEE-OOO-TI-FUL! It took us 2 hours 15 minutes to arrive at the church... following Lisa (Dana's navigator). We did pretty well, considering we only took one wrong turn. Vincent and Ade came in a cute little vintage car... hmmm... I think I would like that too for my wedding, instead of the normal "big car". Ade was somehow just as I imagined her to be. She looked lovely! Her wedding gown was very simple, and she didn't even have a train or veil! No bridesmaids or flower girls either! I guess weddings are done differently in Belgium. We sat at the back, coz we're pretty insignificant. Just colleagues. So couldn't take good photos or videos either, especially with my digital camera. Sam would have been able to take better photos with his camera. The whole ceremony was conducted in Belgian, so it was quite hard for me to follow. It started with Ade's sister (I think), reading a chapter from The Little Prince. I'm not entirely sure how that fits into "marriage" sense, but I think it was about companionship. Then, the Pastor said something, mother said something, Vincent's brother sang a song, Vincent's dad sang a song, aunt said someting, sister said something... it felt like everyone one in the family went forward to say something. Anyway, the the bride and groom went up to the altar place thingy (I don't know what the exact term is for the place where the Chatholic Priest usually stands), and they said their "I do". I thought I would hear some self-written vows, since Vincent even designed their wedding rings. But it was just the typical vows. And then they exchanged candles, which I'm not sure what it symbolizes. According to Paula, it's a Belgian thing, because Dutch weddings don't do that. The ceremony ended with a prayer for the couple, everyone saying the Lord's prayer (first time I say it in Belgian/Dutch!), a communion, and Vincent's brother singing another song (he can really sing!). We were invited to the the wedding reception after that. I was all ready to catch the bouquet, but apparently there's no such thing. Sighz. The first church wedding I attend, and I don't even get to have the excitement of bouquet catching! All in all, it was really nice wedding. A lovely couple. Congratulations, and may your marriage blossom and your love grow day by day! - can't seem to upload photos- aaarrgggh!! so, u'll just have to use your imagination.